The unseasonably warm weather in the state of California this weekend broke many long-standing records for February temperatures in the state and brought with it the clear blue skies of late spring.

In the areas surrounding the Lake Tahoe resorts temperatures were as much as 18 degrees above the norm for this time of year and cause massive melting of snow that resulted in large puddles of water being left behind. This caused the odd phenomenon of individuals arriving in the area to ski choosing instead to go hiking.

This is a dramatic contrast to last year in the Lake Tahoe area when officials struggled to figure out what to do with all the snow that had fallen.

In the northern portion of the state, San Francisco residents were seen walking the city wearing shorts and T-shirts as the city recorded record highs in temperatures for the dates on both Saturday and Sunday.

A hundred miles south of San Francisco, the city of Salinas, California also broke records over the weekend with temperatures reaching 80 on Saturday and then 81 the following day.

High-temperature records were also set at the Oakland International Airport as well as the cities of Santa Rosa and San Jose.

The wine country in Sonoma Country was not to be outdone with temperatures that also reached 80 degrees while breaking the previous record 75 degrees that was posted more than a century ago in 1906.

The temperature in Ukiah, California, located in Mendocino County reached a high of 78 on Sunday. This marked the fourth straight day that previous records for temperatures were either tied or broken.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain of UCLA says that people have taken notice this year to the rising warmth because of the temperature disparities have been so extreme. Swain explains that the state has seen in recent years a pattern of what scientist call West Coast ridging which has been more pronounced this year.

Another factor in the warm and dry weather patterns is the effect of what is known as La Nina. Due to this phenomenon lower than normal temperatures are present on the surface of the eastern portion of the Pacific Ocean. Swain explains that the warming of the western portion of the Pacific along with diminishing amounts of sea ice in the Arctic is also contributing factors to the rise in winter temperatures.

Experts expect this trend to continue and for extreme weather to become a norm for the state of California due to changes in the climate and a general rise in temperatures throughout the globe.